I begin this blogging adventure with the most humble intentions. Having posted to a film blog called Framing Cinema for the past year or so, I have decided that I want to continue writing on the interwebs. However, I want to write more selfishly. In other words, I only want to write about topics that truly interest me at the given moment. Lately, I have had no real desire to see the latest blockbuster coming to a theatre near you. My passion for cinema hasn’t abated, but my enthusiasm for the current crop of releases has. My faith in movies might be restored once we get through the hell that is the summer popcorn flick season. Until then I don’t want to limit myself to just talking about the cinema. I also don’t want to ramble aimlessly about subjects that either only interest me or about which I have no qualifications whatsoever to speak. So, A Sea of Amusements is my attempt to reconcile all of these internal conflicts that plague me when I sit down to write.I have no delusions that this blog's readership will be large. While I will try to keep a target audience in mind when I am posting, as I stated earlier, my principal aim is to keep myself engaged in contemplation and dialogue that I find meaningful.
My intention is to write about several different aspects of popular culture including, but not limited to, film, music, and literature. These fields represent my primary areas of training, so I hope to say something valuable and interesting about them without becoming excessively boring or didactic. I wish to move beyond simply reviewing books, movies, records, etc. to talking about their larger cultural implications. If readers gain an understanding of whether or not they should spend their money on particular works, then such a service is an added bonus to the discussion that will take place.
As the quote at the top of the page indicates, I am starting this blog partly as a reaction to the lack of critical dialogue in our American culture. We all consume thousands upon thousands of moving images, sounds, and words on a daily basis without stopping often to examine exactly what they mean. I believe we are in danger, as cultural critic Neil Postman predicted so brilliantly several decades ago, of “amusing ourselves to death.”
My target audience for this blog is anyone who wishes to think critically and creatively about popular culture. I don’t intend to espouse a particular political or philosophical point of view, but rather engage with the works I discuss on their own terms. I will joyfully promote works of art which I find illuminating and meaningful. My goal is not to kill the aesthetic pleasure of experiencing pieces of pop culture by critically examining them. Rather, I hope to supplement the emotional reactions many of us have to art with reasoned discourse.
While the state of critical discourse in American culture may be pathetic, I am happy to say that several voices calling out in the World Wide wilderness are writing with great clarity and passion about serious cultural issues. I have linked to their pages on the right. My goal is not to replace these passionate critics—as if I could—but rather to supplement the work they are already doing and add my own meager voice to the mix.
